The NHS is wasting £50 million a year on a version of insulin that brings few
extra benefits for people with Type II diabetes than a cheaper variety,
according to an investigation.

According to the study, undertaken by the British Medical Journal and Channel 4 News, 'analogue insulin' - derived from animals or genetically engineered - can cost up to five times that of conventional insulin - taken from human donors.

About 80 per cent of insulin used in Britain is now analogue insulin, according to the report, with two brands dominating the market - Levemir by Novo Nordisk and Lentus by Sanfi-aventis.

But Dr Amanda Adler, of the Diabetes Trials Unit at Oxford University, said that around nine in 10 people with Type II diabetes "would probably do quite well on these human insulins compared with the long acting insulin analogues".

According to Hans Hogerzeil, director of the World Health Organisation's Essential Medicines and Pharmaceutical Policies, "The global insulin market is dominated by two giant companies who are pushing a new type of insulin analogue at three to five times the cost of human insulin, while its marginal cost-effectiveness is not fully established."

Deborah Cohen, investigations editor of the BMJ, and Philip Carter, of Channel 4 News, argued in the journal: "Health services and individuals across the world are paying the price for this market drive."

They collated figures which suggested that, if only half of those using analogue insulins had been put on the human versions, the NHS would have saved £250 million over five years.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said that official advice "specifically drew attention" to guidance over such insulins before prescribing them.

Sanofi-aventis and Novo Nordisk said last night that the modern insulins did have benefits for patients compared with human insulins, and that there were wider financial, social and economic factors to consider as well as the cost of the drug itself.

A spokesman for Novo Nordisk said: "Comparing costs of various treatments against the benefits they bring is a complex matter and can be calculated in many different ways.

"What is known is that the cost of insulin only represents four per cent of the overall £9 billion NHS diabetes budget, and approximately £8.4 billion of this budget is spent on treating serious complications of diabetes such as blindness, kidney failure, amputations and cardiovascular disease as a result of suboptimal treatment."

A spokesman for Sanofi-aventis said: "Sanofi-aventis believes that modern insulins have revolutionised the management of diabetes, and offer a superior patient outcome compared to human insulin. They are easy to use and have a better safety profile and allow GPs to manage most patients in their own surgeries."